Medical pump system for improved pain management

Abstract

A pump system for pain management may receive input related to a patient's real-time pain to provide automatic adjustments of pain medication bolus delivery based on deduced patient pain. The pump may also collect pain management information during the delivery of pain medication to provide data for improved pain management protocols.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A pump system for managing pain medication comprising:
 a pump for delivery of a pain medication to a patient from a reservoir through a line to a patient; 
 an input device having a button actuatable by the patient for receiving a discretionary input from the patient related to patient perception of real time pain during delivery of the pain medication; 
 an electronic controller communicating with the pump and the input device executing a stored program contained in non-transitory memory to:
 (a) provide a schedule of pain medication delivery having a basal delivery rate; 
 (b) at a first time, control the pump to provide the basal delivery rate of pain medication through the line to the patient; 
 (c) at a second time after the first time, receive the discretionary input from the patient through the input device and respond by controlling the pump to:
 (i) deliver a discrete bolus of pain medication through the line only if the discretionary input occurred after a bolus lockout time based on drug adverse effects after any previous delivery of a discrete bolus to the patient and not deliver the discrete bolus of pain medication through the line if the discretionary input occurred before an end of the bolus lockout time, the bolus delivery providing a volume beyond the basal delivery rate; 
 (ii) adjust the basal delivery rate upward from the basal rate of the first time only if the discretionary input occurred after an effect lag time different than the bolus lockout time and before the end of the bolus lockout time and do not adjust the basal delivery rate if the discretionary input occurred before an end of the effect lag time, the effect lag time being a time before an effect of the previous delivery of the discrete bolus would be felt, the basal delivery rate being a rate of pain medication delivery outside the bolus delivery. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the discretionary inputs are actuation of the button of the input device. 
     
     
       3. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the discretionary inputs are received through the input device in response to a real-time survey soliciting information about pain from the patient. 
     
     
       4. The pump system of  claim 3  wherein the real-time survey provides the patient with a scale of pain levels including descriptions of pain at each level to return a pain quantity. 
     
     
       5. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein step (c) further adjusts the bolus volume. 
     
     
       6. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein step (c) further adjusts the bolus lockout time. 
     
     
       7. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein step (c) responds to a trending of patient discretionary input related to patient perception of real-time pain over a period of time. 
     
     
       8. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the pump system further includes a wireless transceiver and wherein the schedule is received wirelessly from a remote device. 
     
     
       9. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the pump system further includes a wireless transceiver and the input device is a wireless portable device. 
     
     
       10. The pump system of  claim 9  wherein the wireless smart device is a cellular telephone providing text entry capability. 
     
     
       11. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the pump records the discretionary inputs from the patient related to patient perception of real-time pain over time to provide a history of patient pain over a time of delivery of the pain medication. 
     
     
       12. The pump system of  claim 11  wherein the pump records whether the pump responds to the discretionary input by delivering the discrete bolus or whether the discretionary input is denied delivery of the discrete bolus as being within the bolus lockout time. 
     
     
       13. The pump system of  claim 11  wherein the pump system includes a wireless transceiver and operates to communicate the history of patient pain to a remote electronic medical record. 
     
     
       14. The pump system of  claim 11  wherein the pump system further records an indication of pain medication delivery over time to provide a history of pain medication delivery over the time of delivery of the pain medication. 
     
     
       15. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the adjustment of the basal delivery rate response to the input from the patient related to real-time pain both operates to increase and to decrease the basal delivery rate. 
     
     
       16. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the input device is a mechanical switch in physical communication with the pump. 
     
     
       17. The pump system of  claim 1  wherein the pump system collects pain management information prior, during, and after the delivery of pain medication to provide data for improved pain management.